Railroad home car and vacation train system

ABSTRACT

A system is disclosed which provides a plurality of railroad home cars and one or more service cars coupled in a train for movement over a rail network. The home cars each include living accommodations comprising one or more bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom. A viewing room is provided in an upper portion of each home car. The service car provides water, sewage treatment and electrical power facilities for the home cars. Living accommodations including a viewing room are provided in the service car.

United States Patent 1191 Molnar Apr. 8, 1975 RAILROAD HOME CAR AND VACATION TRAIN SYSTEM [76] Inventor: Hugo Molnar, PO. Box 1096, Palm Springs, Calif. 92262 [22] Filed: Apr. 29, 1974 211 Appl. No.: 465,130

[52] US. Cl 105/1 R; 105/238; 105/314; 105/327; 105/328 [51] Int. Cl... 361d 17/00; B61c 17/00; 1361c 17/02 [58] Field of Search 105/397, 393, 340, 344,

105/345, l R. 314, 327, 328, 238; 104/1 R [56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 319.358 6/1885 Van Duzer 105/329 R 1.560.917 11/1925 Stubhs .1 105/1 R 2.589.997 3/1952 Dean et a1. 105/344 3.071074 H1963 Lunje et a1 105/1 R OTHER PU BLlCATlON S Car Builders Cyclopedia (1949-1951), A Simmons Boadman Pub., page 572.

Primary E.mminerl\/l. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant E.\'aminer-Richard A. Bertsch Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Flehr. Hohbach. Test, Albritton & Herbert [57] ABSTRACT A system is disclosed which provides a plurality of railroad home cars and one or more service cars coupled in a train for movement over a rail network. The home cars each include living accommodations comprising one or more bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom. A viewing room is provided in an upper portion of each home car. The service car provides water. sewage treatment and electrical power facilities for the home cars. Living accommodations including a viewing room are provided in the service car.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED 81975 3.875.869

ShiU 1 [IF 3 RAILROAD HOME CAR AND VACATION TRAIN SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a system by which vacationers and travelers can be carried over a railroad in a train of cars specially adapted to afford mobile living accommodations.

An increasing portion of the leisure time of families is devoted to traveling, sightseeing and activities at recreational areas. Increasingly, families are vacationing by driving in campers or mobile homes for sightseeing throughout the country, and for recreation at camping parks and other centers of recreational acitvity. The rapid increase in this form of recreation has resulted in a number of problems including increased highway congestion and accident rates, and crowded conditions at the recreational areas. In addition, the increased use of the internal combustion engine which is necessary to pull the trailers and mobile homes has led to increased air pollution, as well as the increased consumption of gasoline which is becoming increasingly scarce as a result of the energy crisis. Accordingly, the need has been recognized for providing a safe, economical, ecologically clean and efficient means for transporting and lodging people for sightseeing and recreational purposes.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a general object of the invention to provide a system which will safely and economically transport people for sightseeing to and from recreational areas and which will also provide comfortable lodging facilities while in transit and while at the recreational area.

Another object is to provide a system of the type described incorporating railroad home cars having living accommodations and which are adapted to be moved in a unit train of the cars over a railroad network.

Another object is to provide a system of the type described in which the train of cars includes a service car adapted to supply water, sewage treatment and electrical power facilities for the home cars.

Another object is to provide a system of the type described in which the home cars include at least one bedroom, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and a viewing room which provides a panoramic view for sightseeing while the train is en route.

This invention includes a plurality of home cars coupled with at least one service car adapted to be pulled in a train by a locomotive over a railroad. Each home car includes at least one bedroom, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and a panoramic viewing room which is positioned on the top portion of the car for sightseeing purposes. The service car includes means for supplying water to each home car, means for receiving and processing sewage from the home cars and means for supplying electrical power to the cars. Living accommodations and a viewing room are also provided in the service car for occupation by a tour director or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of a home car constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the car of FIG. 1 showing the car coupled in a train;

FIG. 3 is an axial section view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is an axial section view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an axial section view of a service car constructed in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a plan view to a reduced scale illustrating a vacation train which includes a plurality of home cars, a service car, a supply car and a locomotive.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The railroad home car and vacation train system of the invention includes the home car 10 shown in FIG. I. A plurality of home cars 10-13 are adapted to be coupled in a train together with one or more service cars 14, a supply car 15 and a locomotive I6, as shown in FIG. 6, for movement over a rail network. Railroad home car 10 provides living accommodations for its occupants, such as a family on vacation, with water, sewage treatment and electrical power facilities being supplied from the service carv Home car 10 includes a body 17 supported for movement over the rails I8 by a pair of wheel trucks I9, 20. Partitions or walls 21-25 are provided within the body for defining a plurality of rooms. A master bedroom 27 is defined between end wall 28 of the body and partition 21. A bathroom 28 is defined between partitions 21 and 22. The central portion of the body is enlarged and separated into upper and lower compartments by a floor 29. The lower compartment is divided by partition 23 into a second bedroom 31 and a living room 32. At the opposite end of the body a kitchen 33 is defined between partitions 24 and 25. A compartment 24 is formed between partition 35 and the opposite end wall 26 and provides storage and space for auxillary equipment such as an air conditioner, a water heater, air tanks, or batterys and the like. The upper compartment of the body is enclosed by a dome 37 to define a viewing room 38. The sides and the ends of the dome are provided with viewing windows 39, 40 to permit the occupants to have a panoramic view over the cars while the train is en route. In addition, both sides of the car are provided with windows, including the sliding glass doors 42, 43 in living room 32.

In master bedroom 27 sliding doors 44 are mounted to form a closet 46. Furniture such as a bed 47, dresser 48, and chairs 49 is positioned within this bedroom.

In the bathroom equipment such as a bathtub 51, sink 52 and stool 53 is built-in. Closet space 54 is provided on either side of the bathroom door 56.

In the second bedroom 31 sliding doors 57 are mounted to form a closet 58 on one side, and on the opposite side upper and lower berths 59 are provided for sleeping accommodations.

In the living room 32 suitable furniture is provided such as the convertible sofa-bed 61 and side table 62.

The kitchen 33 contains equipment such as a range 63, sink 64, and refrigerator 66, with a storage cabinet 67 being built-in adjacent partition 24. Passenger access between the rooms is provided by a passageway 68 leading along one side of the car. A door 69 opens from the passageway into master bedroom 27, with the doors 56 and 71 leading into the bathroom and second bedroom. A short flight of stairs 72 leads from the level of the bathroom to the floor of second bedroom 3], and another flight of stairs 73 leads from the living room to the level of kitchen 33. On the opposite side of the car a flight of stairs 74 leads from the kitchen to the floor of viewing room 38.

The room arrangement described for the embodiment of home car is adapted for accommodating a family of up to six members. As desired, the room arrangement may be varied to accommodate a greater or lesser number of passengers, or to satisfy varied requirements of the individuals. Thus. the central partition in the lower compartment could be removed so that the entire lower compartment may be used as a dining room containing furniture such as a dinner table and a convertible sofa-bed. Another modification for the room arrangement would be that of a duplex home car. ln the duplex home car the lower compartment would be divided by a solid partition into separate rooms for kitchens. Bedrooms would be provided at opposite ends of the cars, with bathrooms being installed between each bedroom and the central partition. Flights of stairs would lead upwardly from each end of the car to the panoramic view room in the upper compartment which would be shared by the occupants or families in the duplex suite of rooms.

As shown in FIG. 5 service car 14 includes a body 76 having a configuration generally similar to that of the previously described home car 10. One end of the car encloses a diesel-electric generator 77 adapted to supply electrical power to each home car in the train through electrical cables releasably coupled together between each of the cars. The center portion of the service car is divided into upper and lower compartments by a floor 78. In the lower compartment a water tank 79 is provided for supplying water to each of the home cars through conduits which are releasably coupled between each of the cars. The lower compartment also contains a sewage processing tank adapted to receive and process sewage from the home cars through con duits releasably coupled between the cars. The opposite end of the car defines a living compartment 81 which contains suitable furniture and equipment for ac commodating a tour guide, for example. A dome 82 is mounted above the upper compartment to define a viewing room, and the side and end walls of the dome are provided with panoramic viewing windows 83. Access to the viewing room from living compartment 81 is Provided by the flight of stairs 84. Front and rear wheel trucks 86, 87 are provided to support the service car on the rails, and suitable couplings are provided at opposite ends of the car to connect the service car in the train, such as between the engine and first home car, as best shown in FIG. 5.

As desired, additional special-function cars may be provided in the train. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5 a supply car 15 is coupled to the trailing end of the train. The supply car would contain stores of food and other supplies to serve as a market or rental store.

In the use and operation of the invention at least one service car 14, a plurality of home cars 10-13, and a supply car 15, where required, are coupled in a train behind locomotive 16 at the departure station. The particular makeup of the number and types of cars can be varied depending upon the sizes of the various families which are to be accommodated. Thus, the train could include a mixture of duplex, one-bedroom and twobedroom cars. Where the train is made up of a large number of home cars, then two service cars could be provided for supplying the requirements of the various families.

A family desiring to take a vacation using the vacation train system of the invention would lease a home car of the desired type for a time period, such as two weeks or more. The family would live and ride in the car as the train travels along a predetermined route, such as along scenic countryside to take advantage of the panoramic viewing rooms in the cars. The train schedule may provide for stopovers at scenic, historic and other interesting points, or at specific destinations. While en route, the families would live and ride in their leased home cars in the same manner as they would while traveling in a mobile home. The various conveniences of a home would be provided such as hot and cold running water, a bath or shower, a full kitchen, a living room with a view, air conditioning and other util ities. Typically the train would be scheduled by day for scenic viewing, and to stop overnight or longer as desired. At the stop-over points the train is shunted onto a siding provided by the railroad. Thus the passengers can enjoy the scenery from the viewing room while traveling, they can prepare their meals at their leisure either while traveling or while the train is at rest, and they can enjoy all of the conveniences of home for leisure time activity, such as radio and television within the cars. When the tour is concluded the cars can be again leased to other families for similar tours.

While the foregoing embodiments are at present considered to be preferred it is understood that numerous variations and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such variations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A railroad home car and vacation train system including the combination of a plurality of railroad cars, means for coupling the cars together in a train for travel over a network of rails, certain ones of said cars comprising home cars, each home car including a body, wheel means for supporting the body on the rails, means for defining a plurality of rooms within the body to provide living accommodations for occupants therein, said rooms comprising at least one bedroom, a kitchen, a livingroom and a bathroom, means for providing occupant access between said rooms, means defining a viewing room in an upper portion of each body and having viewing windows therein for providing a panoramic view over the car for the occupants thereof, at least another of said cars comprising a service car, said service car including means for supplying water to said home cars, means for receiving and processing sewage from said home cars, means for supplying electrical power to said home cars, means defining a viewing room in an upper portion of the body of the service car and having viewing windows therein and means defining at least one livingroom in the body of the service car. 

1. A railroad home car and vacation train system including the combination of a plurality of railroad cars, means for coupling the cars together in a train for travel over a network of rails, certain ones of said cars comprising home cars, each home car including a body, wheel means for supporting the body on the rails, means for defining a plurality of rooms within the body to provide living accommodations for occupants therein, said rooms comprising at least one bedroom, a kitchen, a livingroom and a bathroom, means for providing occupant access between said rooms, means defining a viewing room in an upper portion of each body and having viewing windows therein for providing a panoramic view over the car for the occupants thereof, at least another of said cars comprising a service car, said service car including means for supplying water to said home cars, means for receiving and processing sewage from said home cars, means for supplying electrical power to said home cars, means defining a viewing room in an upper portion of the body of the service car and having viewing windows therein and means defining at least one livingroom in the body of the service car. 